In Every Flower: A Novel (Garden Gates)

As I've said before about this author, she is so good! I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I have a teenage son and I related to so much of what she was saying, just about how a mother feels about her boy. This is just a wonderful book. I love how she links scripture into the story and remains so real with her characters. Every woman can relate to Mibby in some way. It was just inspirational!

This book is the continuing story of Mibby. She finds that marriage to Larry, after her first husband died, (book one) is not coming up roses! This book, and the first two are for the romantic at heart, and lovers of flowers. Definitely a female series. You must buy the first two. Start at the beginning! I would hope that she comes out with the continuing story now that she and Larry have bought the local garden center!

Another book by Patti Hill that I just loved. I found myself staying way past my bedtime reading. Very realistic and touching. Patti gives us a character we can relate to, not a perfect Christian, but a working-at-it every day type of believer. This seriese is definitely one of the best Christian fiction reads out there---highly recommend it!! PLEASE give us more excellent books Patti!!!!

Several years have passed since her spouse died in a biking accident. Mibby Garrett, owner of Perennially Yours Garden Design and mother to fifteen years old Kyle, feels it is time to move on. She accepts the proposal of Larry, who is kind to her teenage son, after they discuss what marriage means to one another. Both feel ready as they know what to expect. After the ceremony, they go off on their honeymoon leaving Kyle with Larry's mother Connie. However, when they return home to set up housekeeping, neither had anticipated the impact of their marriage on their extended family. Connie not only redid the kitchen, but she is over every moment offering unsolicited advice and being hurt when that advice is ignored. Kyle struggles with no longer being the man of the house as much as having a new father. Others are almost as intrusive leaving the newlyweds to wonder if it was worth it. Mibby asks God to help her by guiding her through the chaotic loving interference of others. Book three in the Garden gates tales (see LIKE A WATERED GARDEN and ALWAYS GREEN) is a terrific realistic look at second marriages mostly from the perspective of an intelligent, deeply devout caring person. Indirectly by how they behave to the beleaguered Mibby, the audience also sees how Larry, Ky and Connie react. Still this is Mibby's tale (and trilogy) as she feels so overwhelmed by the actions and reactions of others she wonders whether living in sin would have been a better option before turning to the Lord for guidance. This is a solid character study miniseries that deeply follows a woman from mourning to re-dawning of her life. Harriet Klausner

Remarriage isn't the happily-ever-after Mibby McManus hoped for. She doesn't have enough time with her new husband Larry, her mother-in-law is full of advice, and her teen-age son is self-destructing despite her best efforts. It would have been easy to assign a "good guy" and a "villain" to the story, but Patti Hill resists that convenience. Each character is rich with human flaws and surprising moments of insight and grace. Pain and conflict arise not because any of the characters are malicious or evil, but because goals, memories, and expectations collide--as they do in all families. Patti mines the deep struggles of marriage and parenting with humor and hope, and shines light on the gems that flicker in the darkness. This is a beautiful and fulfilling third novel in the Garden Gate series. Highly recommended.